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Manhattan Child Custody Attorneys

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Manhattan Child Custody Attorneys

Although most understand what child custody is about, many do not realize the complexities of each individual case. The courts in New York deal with these cases on a daily basis, and without the help of skilled Manhattan child custody attorneys, you might not be getting your fair share of the arrangement. Understanding the types of child custody and what is needed to satisfy the court for a favorable outcome will be your best chance to winning your case in court.

The Manhattan child custody attorney is in the best position to help differentiate between the following types of child custody cases.

Physical Child Custody
Physical child custody is the most common in the state of New York. When the parent of the child is given physical custody, they will then have the legal right to have this child reside with them. The exceptional to the rule here is if the two parents are going to be living near each other, then the judge may decide joint physical custody will suffice. Usually if the distance is too great between the parents, the judge may consider the strain on the child and rule one parent has sole physical custody.

The Manhattan child custody attorneys will draw up papers looking to get sole physical custody for the one parent, while the other will only have limited custody or visitation rights. If one of the parents is awarded sole custody, then the child spends all of the time with that parent, and then the other parent will only get to be with the child for a limited time.

Awarding Legal Custody
When one of the parents receives legal custody of the child, they then are able to make all of the decisions on behalf of the child concerning their upbringing, health, and formal education. If awarded legal custody, the parent can decide which type of school the child will attend, what religion the child will practice, and the different types of medical treatments the child can receive. If the parents are on good speaking terms, many New York judges award joint legal custody so both parents can have a say in these important decisions concerning the upbringing of the child.

Your Manhattan child custody attorneys can step in if you feel the other parent is overstepping their authority in the decision making process or making it difficult to make the right choices for the child just for spite. In these instances, your attorney will draw up papers in an attempt to get you sole legal custody of the child.

Sole Custody Award
If the parent feels that the other parent is unfit to be around the child or to be a part of the decision-making process, they can ask the Manhattan child custody attorneys to draw up papers to request sole custody. Many New York judges will hear these cases when one of the parents is considered unfit, whether due to alcohol, drug, or financial problems. By the same token, if one of the parents is now living with a person who is deemed by the court to be unfit to be around children, sole custody could be awarded.

The Manhattan child custody attorneys are experts at handling these matters when the divorce tends to be messy. If the child is being used as a bargaining chip, your attorney will present to the court the facts of the case and push for the custody to be awarded to one parent. If anything is deemed not in the best interest of the child, it could sway the courts to rule favorable for the other parent.

Joint Custody Award
When the parents no longer live together but are working amicably to share all the responsibilities of bringing up the child, this could be deemed as joint custody. This term does crossover to many aspects of the child custody cases, from joint physical, joint legal, to a little of both joint legal and physical custody. This can get messy if you are not working with skilled Manhattan child custody attorneys.

Spouses sharing joint legal custody won’t always have physical custody together. By the same token, parents that are sharing joint physical custody may be able to enjoy joint legal custody too.

Regardless the circumstances in your divorce, the Manhattan child custody attorneys will work tirelessly on your behalf to present your side of the story in a way that helps the court to look favorably on your request.

Issues surrounding child custody in a divorce are often contentious and emotional. A parent can benefit greatly from understanding how child custody laws work and the options they have when trying to secure a favorable child custody agreement. Parents who fully understand the law and take advantage of their rights are more likely to secure an arrangement that allows them to maintain the best relationship with their children after a divorce.

The Best Interests of the Child

The guiding principal in child custody decisions is the best interests of the child. Anytime a judge is required to make a decision about custody, visitation or the child’s welfare, this idea will be at the forefront of their decision making process.

Parents often have questions about the legality surrounding this term. The term is left only broadly defined on purpose, so that it can be applied to any situation involving children. Essentially, whatever decision results in the child’s greatest benefit is considered to be in their best interests. Importantly, the desires, needs and requests of the parents or other family are considered secondary to the child’s needs.

In deciding what is in the best interests of the child, a New York judge is likely to follow a few general guidelines. None of these are absolute, and each child and case is considered individually, but the guidelines serve as a starting point and provide a small amount of predictability for parents.

In general, contact with both parents is considered to be in the child’s best interests unless one parent has been found guilty of abuse or has a lifestyle that would be considered harmful or detrimental to the child. The court will often make every effort to give the child some contact with both parents and any other highly relevant family or caregivers.

The court also aims to create as much stability in the child’s life as possible after the divorce and seek to minimize the overall impact and disruption of the divorce. This usually means that the parent who can show a more stable home environment and provide the child with better access to the social and educational environment they had before may have a more favorable position when arguing custody. For example, a parent who continues to reside in the family home and give the child access to the same school and friends will be viewed more favorably than the parent who has moved to a different town.

There are many factors that come into play when determining what is in the best interests of the child and how each parent is able to provide benefits. Demonstrating this to the court is often an important part of any legal strategy a parent and his or her attorney may use.

Types of Custody

There are two essential types of custody that parents may be awarded: physical custody and legal custody. Physical custody involves the actual care taking of the child and providing them with a residence and daily care and provisions.

Legal custody involves making important legal or life decisions for the child. It is relatively common for a parent to retain legal custody even if they do not have physical custody. This means that the parent must be consulted and must agree on important decision such as medical care, educational services or financial matters pertaining to the child.

The degree to which a parent has custody often follows a spectrum ranging from full custody to no custody. Many couples are able to negotiate a joint-custody arrangement, and this is often seen as the most beneficial. In joint-custody, each parent shares the responsibilities of custody. This often alleviates the need for child support because each parent is directly fulfilling their responsibilities to care for the child.

Visitation

When a parent is not granted physical custody or when another family member such as a grandparent wishes access to the child, visitation rights may be granted. Visitation is separate from custody and is simply a means of providing for the relationship between the child and the person seeking visitation. Parents will generally have the right to visitation so long as there is no evidence of abuse and the court agrees that the relationship is beneficial.

Exactly how visitation works is highly varied with few strict guidelines. The court often prefers that parents work out their own visitation schedule and agreement. A judge gets involved only if the parents cannot agree or if the current agreement has been repeatedly violated. When drafting visitation into a custody agreement, it is important to be as specific as necessary while allowing for some flexibility. A parent should discuss with their attorney how exactly to word the agreement so that it works.

Options for Child Custody

Parents have a variety of legal options when it comes to drafting a child custody agreement. Usually, these agreements are laid out during divorce proceedings. The parents may be able to reach an agreement entirely on their own, or they may use a minimally invasive process like mediation. If necessary, the agreement can be litigated, and the judge will ultimately decide. A parent may need representation in court and is entitled to legal support and advice even during mediation. No matter which option is chosen, it is important that an attorney help with drafting the agreement and look over any agreement provided. We can help parents with this often complicated and difficult process.

In Manhattan, child custody involves deciding how and where a child is raised until they are 18 years old. If both parents can set aside any animosity toward each other and resolve the custody issues, a judge may grant their decisions. This means the judge makes the parents’ child custody agreement a court order. However, it must be deemed in the best interest of the child.

If parents cannot agree, the child custody issue is resolved according to the New York’s Domestic Relations Law Section 240. The two types of child custody issues that will be resolved in court are: legal child custody and physical child custody.

Legal Child Custody in Manhattan Grants a Parent the Right to Make Important Decisions

What religion will the child practice? What school will they attend in Manhattan? What doctor will they visit when they are sick? Parents may seem to have the right to make these decisions. However, in a child custody case, a judge will make the decision on who has the right to make important decisions about their child. This is called legal child custody.

Legal child custody is separated into two issues: sole and joint legal child custody. A judge can grant sole legal child custody to one parent. That parent has the right to make all the decisions about their child. The parent who is not granted legal custody is excluded from the decision-making process.

A judge may grant joint legal custody. The right to make decisions is given to both parents. The parents decide important decisions about their child’s future.

Physical Child Custody in Manhattan Grants Parent the Right to Live with Their Child

Physical child custody, or residential custody, determines who the child will live with all the time. It is also split into two decisions: sole and joint physical child custody. Sole physical child custody grants one parent the right to live with their child. The child lives with them 100 percent of the time. The other parent, called the non-custodial parent, receives visitation rights.

Visitation rights allows a parent supervised or unsupervised visits with their child. This means a child may spend the weekend at the non-custodial parent’s house or a couple days. A supervised visit involves a third party being present during the visit. This often happens in cases where a parent abused their child.

Joint physical child custody grants both parents the right to live with their child. This means a plan must be worked out to provide each parent 50 percent of the time with their child. Living arrangements may include certain days of the week the child spends with each parent. It may also include a child living with one parent during the school year and with the other parent during the summer.

Manhattan Child Custody Arrangements

A Manhattan child custody judge may grant a combination of child custody arrangements depending on what’s in the best interest of the child. For instance, a parent may receive joint legal custody, but sole physical custody. Another parent in a child custody case may receive joint physical and legal child custody.

Contact a Manhattan Attorney about Your Child Custody Issues

When a judge uses what’s in the best interest of the child standard, they must answer a series of questions about the parents and the child. For instance, they must determine if each parent can work together, has any mental health issues and any history of abuse.
To understand more about child custody issues and for legal representation, contact us. We will explain your case and determine how to fight for you and your child. Contact us.

When a divorce occurs among a couple who has children, emotions often preclude those involved from thinking clearly. As a result, things are said in the heat of the moment, causing hurt feelings and placing numerous roadblocks in the way of reaching an agreement that benefits everyone, especially the children. Thus, when trying to determine the best interests of the children when discussing custody arrangements, it’s best to employ the services of Manhattan child custody lawyers to assist in the process. Not only will they have an in-depth understanding of the law as it applies to these situations, but they can also act as an objective party during the process, helping to ensure negotiations go smoothly.

Putting the Children First
In any child custody case, the court will always do what it considers to be in the child’s best interests. Even if one or both parents make requests or state they have certain needs that can only be met with specific custody arrangements, the court will consider the requests of the parents secondary to what will best benefit the child. While each child and child custody case is unique unto itself, the court will often use a number of general guidelines to help determine the best custody arrangements for both the child and parents.

Contact With Both Parents
If at all possible, the court will try to ensure the child will have contact with both parents after the divorce. However, this is contingent upon the court viewing both parents as positive influences in the child’s life. For example, if one parent has been found guilty of domestic violence or other abuse, or has a documented problem with substance abuse, the court may consider contact with that parent to be potentially harmful or even dangerous, and therefore deny one parent rights to custody or visitation. In these cases, the court may instead allow the child to have visits with other family members who are considered safe and reliable. Additional information about this can be found at www.nycdivorcelawyers.com/manhattan-child-custody-lawyers/.

Stable Home Environment
Since the court realizes the child’s life has been severely disrupted due to the divorce, it will make every effort possible to minimize future disruptions, and allow the child to settle down into a stable home environment. Because of this, courts often try to grant custody to the parent who will continue residing in the family’s current home, since this will let the child continue to attend the same school, interact with the same friends, and stay in an environment to which they have been accustomed. However, even if this is the case, it’s still possible for the other parent to argue they could provide the child with a better home environment and higher standard of living. In these instances, it’s best to work with Manhattan child custody lawyers, since they can provide the court with detailed information that may help sway the judge in another direction. More details about how this may occur can be found at www.berkbot.com/practice-areas/child-custody/.

Custody and Visitation
Even if one parent is granted sole physical custody by the court, the other parent is usually granted visitation rights. Designed so that they can have “frequent and meaningful” parenting time with the child, these visits can be supervised, unsupervised, or supervised by a therapist, social worker, or other individual assigned by the court. Because of this, even a parent who may have committed abuse can in some cases be granted visits with their child, so long as the court feels it can be done in a safe manner. And in any custody and visitation case, a parent can request the court modify the existing custody agreement, but this must be done through an attorney. Therefore, having an experienced and knowledgeable Manhattan child custody lawyer on your side can make a tremendous difference in the time you will have to visit with your child.

Custody Negotiations
For many couples who are divorcing, negotiating custody and visitation agreements outside of court is a popular option. If this is the preferred method of both parents, Manhattan child custody lawyers can play a pivotal role in helping craft these agreements. Whether the divorce is amicable or contested, negotiating these agreements outside of court will offer numerous advantages, such as giving both parents more flexibility in deciding custody and visitation, and also making it easier to modify the agreements at a later date. By using Manhattan child custody lawyers in these instances, custody and visitation can be a much easier topic to discuss.

Although most understand what child custody is about, many do not realize the complexities of each individual case. The courts in New York deal with these cases on a daily basis, and without the help of skilled Manhattan child custody attorneys, you might not be getting your fair share of the arrangement. Understanding the types of child custody and what is needed to satisfy the court for a favorable outcome will be your best chance to winning your case in court.

The Manhattan child custody attorney is in the best position to help differentiate between the following types of child custody cases.

Physical Child Custody
Physical child custody is the most common in the state of New York. When the parent of the child is given physical custody, they will then have the legal right to have this child reside with them. The exceptional to the rule here is if the two parents are going to be living near each other, then the judge may decide joint physical custody will suffice. Usually if the distance is too great between the parents, the judge may consider the strain on the child and rule one parent has sole physical custody.

The Manhattan child custody attorneys will draw up papers looking to get sole physical custody for the one parent, while the other will only have limited custody or visitation rights. If one of the parents is awarded sole custody, then the child spends all of the time with that parent, and then the other parent will only get to be with the child for a limited time.

Awarding Legal Custody
When one of the parents receives legal custody of the child, they then are able to make all of the decisions on behalf of the child concerning their upbringing, health, and formal education. If awarded legal custody, the parent can decide which type of school the child will attend, what religion the child will practice, and the different types of medical treatments the child can receive. If the parents are on good speaking terms, many New York judges award joint legal custody so both parents can have a say in these important decisions concerning the upbringing of the child.

Your Manhattan child custody attorneys can step in if you feel the other parent is overstepping their authority in the decision making process or making it difficult to make the right choices for the child just for spite. In these instances, your attorney will draw up papers in an attempt to get you sole legal custody of the child.

Sole Custody Award
If the parent feels that the other parent is unfit to be around the child or to be a part of the decision-making process, they can ask the Manhattan child custody attorneys to draw up papers to request sole custody. Many New York judges will hear these cases when one of the parents is considered unfit, whether due to alcohol, drug, or financial problems. By the same token, if one of the parents is now living with a person who is deemed by the court to be unfit to be around children, sole custody could be awarded.

The Manhattan child custody attorneys are experts at handling these matters when the divorce tends to be messy. If the child is being used as a bargaining chip, your attorney will present to the court the facts of the case and push for the custody to be awarded to one parent. If anything is deemed not in the best interest of the child, it could sway the courts to rule favorable for the other parent.

Joint Custody Award
When the parents no longer live together but are working amicably to share all the responsibilities of bringing up the child, this could be deemed as joint custody. This term does crossover to many aspects of the child custody cases, from joint physical, joint legal, to a little of both joint legal and physical custody. This can get messy if you are not working with skilled Manhattan child custody attorneys.

Spouses sharing joint legal custody won’t always have physical custody together. By the same token, parents that are sharing joint physical custody may be able to enjoy joint legal custody too.

Regardless the circumstances in your divorce, the Manhattan child custody attorneys will work tirelessly on your behalf to present your side of the story in a way that helps the court to look favorably on your request.

Although most understand what child custody is about, many do not realize the complexities of each individual case. The courts in New York deal with these cases on a daily basis, and without the help of skilled Manhattan child custody attorneys, you might not be getting your fair share of the arrangement. Understanding the types of child custody and what is needed to satisfy the court for a favorable outcome will be your best chance to winning your case in court.

The Manhattan child custody attorney is in the best position to help differentiate between the following types of child custody cases.

Physical Child Custody
Physical child custody is the most common in the state of New York. When the parent of the child is given physical custody, they will then have the legal right to have this child reside with them. The exceptional to the rule here is if the two parents are going to be living near each other, then the judge may decide joint physical custody will suffice. Usually if the distance is too great between the parents, the judge may consider the strain on the child and rule one parent has sole physical custody.

The Manhattan child custody attorneys will draw up papers looking to get sole physical custody for the one parent, while the other will only have limited custody or visitation rights. If one of the parents is awarded sole custody, then the child spends all of the time with that parent, and then the other parent will only get to be with the child for a limited time.

Awarding Legal Custody
When one of the parents receives legal custody of the child, they then are able to make all of the decisions on behalf of the child concerning their upbringing, health, and formal education. If awarded legal custody, the parent can decide which type of school the child will attend, what religion the child will practice, and the different types of medical treatments the child can receive. If the parents are on good speaking terms, many New York judges award joint legal custody so both parents can have a say in these important decisions concerning the upbringing of the child.

Your Manhattan child custody attorneys can step in if you feel the other parent is overstepping their authority in the decision making process or making it difficult to make the right choices for the child just for spite. In these instances, your attorney will draw up papers in an attempt to get you sole legal custody of the child.

Sole Custody Award
If the parent feels that the other parent is unfit to be around the child or to be a part of the decision-making process, they can ask the Manhattan child custody attorneys to draw up papers to request sole custody. Many New York judges will hear these cases when one of the parents is considered unfit, whether due to alcohol, drug, or financial problems. By the same token, if one of the parents is now living with a person who is deemed by the court to be unfit to be around children, sole custody could be awarded.

The Manhattan child custody attorneys are experts at handling these matters when the divorce tends to be messy. If the child is being used as a bargaining chip, your attorney will present to the court the facts of the case and push for the custody to be awarded to one parent. If anything is deemed not in the best interest of the child, it could sway the courts to rule favorable for the other parent.

Joint Custody Award
When the parents no longer live together but are working amicably to share all the responsibilities of bringing up the child, this could be deemed as joint custody. This term does crossover to many aspects of the child custody cases, from joint physical, joint legal, to a little of both joint legal and physical custody. This can get messy if you are not working with skilled Manhattan child custody attorneys.

Spouses sharing joint legal custody won’t always have physical custody together. By the same token, parents that are sharing joint physical custody may be able to enjoy joint legal custody too.

Regardless the circumstances in your divorce, the Manhattan child custody attorneys will work tirelessly on your behalf to present your side of the story in a way that helps the court to look favorably on your request.


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Spodek Law Group have offered me excellent support and advice thru a very difficult time. I feel I've dealt with someone who truly cares and wants the best outcome for you and yours. I'm extremely grateful for all the help Spodek Law Group has offered me. I can't recommend them enough.

~ David Bruce

Spodek Law Group was incredibly professional and has given me the best advice I could wish for. They had been helpful and empathetic to my stressful situation. Would highly recommend Spodek Law Group to anyone I meet.

~ Rowlin Garcia

Best service I ever had. Todd is absolutely class personified. You are in the safest hands with spodek. They have their clients interest in mind.

~ Francis Anim

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